PC - Week 2 - Money and Treasure

I want to invite you to open your bibles with me to Lukes Gospel, and find with me chapter 12. Today, we’re going to continue our series called, Pursuing Carrots: The endless chase for more. And We’re examining, things in our life that we chase that do not bring us closer to God. Carrots are the things in our life that we chase and just when we think we’re gong to get it, its just out of our reach again, and we just keep pursuing these carrots that brings us no satisfaction.

And What we recognize is this: Life is full of endless lures. All around us are lures the world puts in our way or in front of us to say, come get this, go get that. And these lures lead us in these meaningless attempts to waste our time, money, resources, and even happiness. These things that we pursue never satisfy us, but we tend to fall for the carrot on a stick and chase after them, and sometimes we never realize how fruitless or vain our attempts are at getting that next thing.

Last week, we examined the carrot of fame and the danger it is to seek to have our name praised above GOd’s name. Today we’re going to examine the carrot of Money and possessions. What does to mean to be rich. Luke chapter 12, and find with me verse 13. 13 Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 “Friend,” he said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 Then he told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive.

17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!

This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’ 21 “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Prayer… Heavenly Father. We have many treasures in this world. Guide our hearts this morning to witness and reconize the greatest treasure of all, you… Help us to pursue you above all things in this life.

In the name of your son, Jesus… amen. Blind Spots. Everyone one of us have them. We put in a lot of miles in this weekend. we wanted to take Gabriel to Pittsburgh to check out this college for flight school. He wants to be a pilot and they had offered an open door opportunity to check out this community college that just got two brand new flight simulators. But on the way, theres traffic everywhere and of course, in every car there are blind spots where there can be someone beside you, and unless you actually take your eyes off of the road and look behind you, you can make the mistake of trying to merge into another lane where there is a car hidden from your sight.

And when You try to merge, they honk and they’re like you jerk, and I’d be like.. sorry. I didn’t see you. It’s amazing to me that in our car, we have two systems to help prevent accident with our blind spots. We have this little triangle in our side mirror that lights up when there is something present in your blind spot, and if you turn on your blinker, the second warning system they put in place when there is a car in your blind spot, our car will turn down the radio and give off a beeping warning sound letting me know there is someone beside me and it wont turn off until they are cleared.

And then its safe to merge into their lane. If you think about it, thats really true in our lives as well. There are blind spots in our life where we are deceived, and we don’t even know it. And heres a hard truth about that. Listen… There might be blind spots in your life that has deceive you and you don’t even know it, and only other people can see it in your life.

I was thinking about it this weekend as I was driving and chewing on this message. Other people can usually see blind spots in our lives more easily than we can. We need other people in our lives to help point out our blind spots to us. Let me show you what I mean… This Scripture that we read in chapter 12… we learn something from Jesus about blind spots in our life.

Look with me… again in chapter 12 and verse 13…. 13 Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Now, look at how Jesus responds to this persons question. 14 “Friend.. I love that. I tend to call a lot of people friend when I come into contact with strangers. Friend,” he said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” What was this persons blind spot?

It was greed. He wanted more. Have you ever noticed in a pursuit of being rich, we always want more. And if one would ask the question, what does it mean to be rich.. I would ask.. How rich is rich.. isn’t the answer always, well, its more. Its more than I have now. No one would say, Rich is having less. So, What is rich? Well, being rich seems to me to be a moving target.

Rich always means more than you have now. I remember being younger and thinking “If I could just cross this threshold of income that will be enough…” only to either get a new job, or to get a raise and when I crossed that threshold, it was never enough. The line moved again and then again, and then again and… every time I got more,.. the line moved, and I always needed more.

How much riches and material things do you need to be happy and satisfied? Most people would say “just a little bit more.” Thats what this person was doing.. they wanted just a little bit more. And What they needed wasn’t more, but a friend to look into their life and go, you have a blind spot. And what did Jesus say about this blind spot, and about the desire of more wealth?

He said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” But there is something we recognize about the worlds perception of wealth. THE WORLD’S UNDERSTANDING OF BEING RICH MEANS TO HAVE MORE. This desire for more becomes a carrot being hung over our eyes. This never ending pursuit of more… this pursuit of, if I just get this next bit..

if I get more, my life will be different… but it doesn’t get different does it? It gets harder. For me, when I got more from my job , it also meant more responsibilities. More time away from my family. And this is how we think as American Christians. We are accustomed to think of wealth as a blessing. God is saying to us right now, “Wealth? Beware. Be on guard.

It’s dangerous to want more. Life doesn’t always consist of more things, more possessions.” It’s dangerous.. but is it bad? I don’t think so.. I mean, remember last week, fame wasn’t bad. It’s the same for wealth… Wealth isn’t bad. Abraham had great wealth, but he was counted as a man of faith. David had wealth. He was a king.. but he was a man after God’s own heart. So wealth isn’t bad, but it becomes bad when it becomes the primary focus if our pursuit.

And when you feel like you don’t have enough.. and that feeling of always wanting more, and never getting that satisfaction will cause fear and anxiety in our life. I’ll show you this here in a moment.. but before I do.. lets ask another question. What does this pursuit of more do to us? Well, Wealth leads to keeping more than you need. That’s what this person did in the parable.

Wealth can become an illusion that we are safe, and can bring a life of peace. This parable from verse 13-21 that Jesus told says, that this person was so abundant in their crops that they tore down their old smaller, barns and made larger ones… in hopes for what? Verse 19 says, to take it easy, eat, drink and enjoy yourself. The climax to what this person was doing is found in verse 21…

he was storing for himself treasures in the world, and not being rich towards God. Laying up treasures.. thats what we’re hearing. “Store it up so you can relax, eat, drink and be merry”—isn’t that what our culture exalts. This is success in our American culture. This is the dream for which we should live: make money, store it up, so that when you’re older you can relax, eat, drink and be merry.

That’s success in our culture. The world’s understanding of being rich means to have more, and to have comfort. Stock pile it.. and its hear this, it’s not bad to save.. thats not what I am saying… Proverbs 6:6-8 says, “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” In other words, God words says, it is wise and righteous to save and to do so as you’re able.

God was NOT mad at the guy because he was rich. God was not mad at the harvest. God was not mad at the barns being torn down and built bigger and better. God was not mad at the wealth. But judgment fell because the farmer was not rich in the things that mattered most – the things of God! And heres a truth.. the more we have the less we tend to ask God for.

I wrote in my journal this week, I’ve come to learn that the less I have the more desperate it makes me for God, and that is good. The lack of a sense of desperation for God, is so deadly to our faith… Don’t fall into that trap of not being desperate for God. Keep desperate for God.. And listen, If we are not desperate for God, we will be desperate for everything else in this world.

And when we become desperate to everything else in this world.. our natural tendency is to hoard it. To covet it. To desire it, to be desperate for it, and to keep it. Think about how powerful these words are… you have laid up treasures for yourself, you have stored up treasures for yourself, Do you See the self-centeredness here. You’re using your wealth to fill your heart’s desires. To take it easy, to eat and drink and enjoy yourself.

This person in this parable had little to no desire to do God’s work. James talks about this.. In James chapter 5 which talks about the warning to the rich oppressors.. he writes, It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! We are living in the last days. Listen, Life is not guaranteed. You’re never guaranteed tomorrow. Life is precious! This could be today for any one of us.

Jesus could come back at any point. Jesus is saying, “You’re about to meet God and you’ve got all these resources that you’re wasting, that you’re holding on to, that you could have been using for good.” What does that have to do with others? Well think about it.. they too are living the last days just as we are. They’re about to meet God as well. Wealth leads to the neglect of others in need.

Just picture it… take a moment to think about this.. Jesus could come back at any moment. And right now, there are all of these people living today who have not heard the gospel. We think just because we live in this bubble of a country where we’re all in a Christian country, and everyone is saved its so wrong… people are dying everyday, babies are being born, everyday, the old is leaving and the new generation is coming..

there are new generations everyday that are being born into families that do not believe in the gospel. Right here in our own backyard. We have people all around us that do not know the gospel. And how will they come to know if there isn’t anyone taking it to them? And that takes resources. There are people in our own community that have not heard the truth of Christ. In our own country,.

Not to mention the other countries that need to hear it as well… In our storing of wealth, We could have gotten the gospel to them; we have the resources in the church to get the gospel to all of them. But we didn’t. Instead. we stored up more and as a result, we’re leaving them in an eternally dangerous position. So, Don’t miss the point here. Wealth in the hands of people wanting an easy life, leads to keeping more than they need.

Is there any evidence of that in your life? neglecting others in need? Is there evidence of this in your life? And if so.. lets ask.. How would we become rich towards God. How do we not store wealth for ourselves but we become rich towards God… Well first… it begins by examining our own hearts. Jesus tells us in the next section of chapter 12, in verse 34, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Being rich towards God means you examine what you value. What you value points to what your heart desires. What do you value in life? I value my wife and kids, and my family. I value my own life. I value those close to me. Those I love, those I care about. Those I shepherd. But do I value others that I don’t know. Can I value the life of someone who’s a stranger, or even my enemy?

Can I value their life or do I put them in my blind spot. Out of sight out of mind.. right? We can't care for others if all we do is only care for ourselves and those we value. Micah 6:8, tells what God values – Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you:. to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.

In the New Testament we learn about the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8). Why is this a value? Because The Lord … is not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). When we examine our wealth, we are confronted with a choice… what are you valuing. Most often when it comes to wealth.. money lies to us. If you lose me, you lose a very large part of your life.

If you lose me, you lose what life can be for you. I am your life. Do you realize how big I am? Life will be real life — truly life — if you have me.” That’s what the inheritance was saying to this person. Paul knew that’s what riches say. Which is why he told the rich in 1 Timothy 6:18–19, “Be rich in good works . . . be ready to share .

. . take hold of that which is truly life.” That leads me to the second truth I want to share, and its; l this.. Once we examine out hearts, make a choice. Will you live in fear and anxiety over your wealth, or peace and joy. Jesus in the next section, in chapter 12 verses 22 - 34 teaches us that there are two emotions that occur when we choose to worry about our wealth…

Look with me in verse 31… Do not be afraid, little flock. What is the threat in this verse? Jesus says, do not be afraid.. what is it that were being afraid over? Well, the answer is found in front and in the back of this verse. You can find the answer in either direction. If you go backwards to verse 30, they fear not being like other nations. They fear not being like the world, with wealth and possessions.

And if you go forward.. in verse 33, they fear giving away their possessions. Jesus says, don’t fear these things.. but seek what? The kingdom. Thats where the choice comes in… we need to make a choice on something we stop doing and something we start doing. We stop focusing our quest on things, and we start selling what we don’t need and turning our stockpiled resources into ministries of kingdom-bringing love.

That’s so the early church.. they would sell their possessions and land, and resources to further the gospel. And in doing this Jesus says we provide true treasure for ourselves in heaven. The cure for anxiety and fear is making a choice to let go of what we think is more valuable in this life, and pursuing what actually is of great value that is available to us right now… and that to be kingdom people.

I just want to ask you.. what kingdom are you building? I don’t want to live with this blind spot in my life. “I don’t want to live deceived anymore. God, I want to do, whatever you’re calling me to do.” I want what you want. And for us, as Christians, he’s calling us to go against the grain of the world.

To not fear losing what the world says is treasure. To not fear giving away things in our life to those in need. We all got to make major changes in how we give, how we use the wealth God has blessed us with. He knows what you need, he knows where your heart is. You will never regret trusting God with use of your possessions. And so, I want to end like this..

here are some questions to pray over as we close … God, how are you leading me to change my saving or spending patterns? God, how are you leading me to change the way I save and spend money? God, how are you leading me to give more to that which is eternal? God, how are you leading me to use the wealth I have on behalf of the poor and oppressed, spiritually and physically for the spread of the gospel and the care of people’s physical needs?

Ask yourself these questions… “How are you leading me to change my saving and spending patterns? How am I building my life on you… Do you know what it means to pursue the kingdom of God… it means falling in love with Jesus. That’s the path to the kingdom. It’s falling in love with the King. Prayer. *